FORD BEEBE BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Ford Beebe was a screenwriter, director, and producer, with works in virtually every genre. His favorite genres seemed to be detective dramas, westerners, and serials, though. In his long fifty year filmmaking career, he managed to be a part of about two hundred films, whether acting as producer, director, or script writer.

Beebe was born November 26, 1988 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He began working in the film industry in 1916 as a writer. His first job was as a scenario writer for the comedy “A Youth of Fortune” (1916). He continued writing scripts for such pictures as the action adventure “The Railroad Raiders” (1917), western short “A Gamblin’ Fool” (1920), and comedy “Too Much Business” (1922) before trying his hand at directing with his debut, the short comedy western “The Test” (1922). Next, Beebe decided to also add producer to his job title. His first work as co-producer was the short “In Wrong Right” (1923). He got his first sole producer position in “The Blind Trail” (1926). Beebe kept on producing, turning out later films like “Son of Dracula” (1943), “The Invisible Man’s Revenge” (1944), “Lord of the Jungle” (1955), and his final effort, “Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar” (1967). In all, he produced, or assisted in the production of, fourteen pictures.

As well, he directed even more films than he produced. Throughout his career, he is listed as director in over one hundred works, including shorts, motion pictures, television movies, and TV shows. Some of his greatest directorial feats consist of the action packed sci-fi “Flash Gordon’s Trip to Mars” (1938), the fantastical family adventure “Buck Rogers” (1939), the super hero picture “The Green Hornet” (1940), the Disney animated feature “Fantasia” (1940), and the fast paced “Don Winslow of the Navy” (1942). In later life, he directed the TV series “The Adventures of Champion” (1955) for six episodes and also archive footage that appeared in both of the television movies, “Deadly Ray From Mars” (1966) and “Destination Saturn” (1966). His concluding position as sole director was in the fun family feature “Joniko and the Kush Ta Ka” (1969), although he was an additional director in “Challenge to be Free” (1975), and had some footage present in two of his remakes, “Buck Rogers” (1977) and “The Green Hornet” (1990).

Even more so, Beebe was present as the writer in many films. He helped write scripts and screen plays for over one hundred different works. Many of his writing jobs were for westerners, not limited to “Alias: The Bad Man” (1931), “Riders of Pasco Basin” (1940), “The Girl From San Lorenzo” (1950), and “Davy Crockett, Indian Scout” (1950). However, a great number of them were also adventures, like “The Last of the Mohicans” (1932), “Bomba on Panther Island” (1949), “The Golden Idol” (1954), and his last piece, “King of the Wild Stallions” (1959). Additionally, he did write for other genres, including crime, romance, and action.

On November 26, 1978, Beebe passed away at age ninety in Lake Elsinore, California.    

Filmography
 
1990       The Green Hornet

1977       Buck Rogers

1975       Challenge to Be Free 

1969       Joniko and the Kush Ta Ka

1967       Charlie the Lonesome Cougar

1966       Destination Saturn

1966       Deadly Ray from Mars

1959       King of the Wild Stallions

1956       The Indian Raiders 

1955       The Adventures of Champion 

1955       Lord of the Jungle 

1954       Killer Leopard

1954       The Golden Idol

1953       Dogs 'n Ducks 

1953       Safari Drums

1953       Planet Outlaws

1952       Bomba and the Jungle Girl 

1952       African Treasure

1952       Wagons West

1951       Elephant Stampede 

1951       The Lion Hunters 

1950       The Lost Volcano

1950       The Girl from San Lorenzo

1950       Davy Crockett, Indian Scout

1950       Bomba and the Hidden City

1949       Satan's Cradle

1949       Bomba, the Jungle Boy

1949       Bomba on Panther Island 

1949       Red Desert 

1949       The Dalton Gang 

1948       Shep Comes Home 

1948       Courtin' Trouble

1947       Six-Gun Serenade

1946       My Dog Shep

1945       Easy to Look at

1944       Enter Arsene Lupin

1944       The Invisible Man's Revenge

1943       Son of Dracula

1943       Frontier Badmen

1943       The Adventures of Smilin' Jack

1942       Night Monster

1942       Overland Mail

1942       Don Winslow of the Navy

1942       Night Monster

1942       Gang Busters

1941       The Thrifty Pig 

1941       The Masked Rider

1941       Sea Raiders

1941       Riders of Death Valley

1941       Sky Raiders

1940       The Green Hornet Strikes Again!

1940       Fantasia 

1940       Junior G-Men

1940       Son of Roaring Dan

1940       Winners of the West

1940       Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe

1940       The Green Hornet 

1940       Riders of Pasco Basin 

1939       The Stranger from Texas 

1939       Oklahoma Frontier 

1939       Riders of Black River

1939       The Phantom Creeps

1939       The Oregon Trail

1939       Buck Rogers

1938       Mars Attacks the World 

1938       Red Barry

1938       Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars 

1938       Trouble at Midnight 

1937       West Bound Limited 

1937       Tim Tyler's Luck

1937       Radio Patrol

1937       Wild West Days

1937       Secret Agent X-9

1937       Jungle Jim

1937       Squadron of Doom  

1936       Ace Drummond

1936       Stampede 

1936       Code of the Range 

1936       The Mysterious Avenger 

1935       Gallant Defender 

1935       Tumbling Tumbleweeds

1935       The Man from Guntown

1935       Riding Wild 

1935       The Outlaw Deputy 

1935       Justice of the Range

1935       Fighting Shadows

1935       The Revenge Rider 

1935       Law Beyond the Range

1935       The Adventures of Rex and Rinty 

1934       Prescott Kid 

1934       The Law of the Wild 

1933       Laughing at Life 

1932       Pride of the Legion

1932       The Last of the Mohicans 

1932       The Shadow of the Eagle  

1931       The Lightning Warrior 

1931       The Galloping Ghost 

1931       Alias: The Bad Man 

1931       The Vanishing Legion 

1931       King of the Wild 

1931       The Phantom of the West 

1930       The Indians Are Coming 

1929       Tarzan the Tiger 

1929       Overland Bound

1929       Come Across 

1929       The Forty-Five Caliber War 

1928       Yellow Contraband 

1928       The Black Ace 

1928       The Code of the Scarlet

1928       The Upland Rider 

1928       The Canyon of Adventure

1928       The Bronc Stomper

1928       The Wagon Show 

1928       The Apache Raider 

1928       The Boss of Rustler's Roost 

1927       The Devil's Twin 

1927       Border Blackbirds 

1927       Two-Gun of the Tumbleweed 

1927       Don Desperado 

1927       The Man from Hard Pan 

1927       The Long Loop on the Pecos 

1926       The Outlaw Express 

1926       The High Hand 

1926       Without Orders

1926       The Blind Trail 

1925       Luck and Sand

1925       Win, Lose or Draw 

1925       The Blood Bond

1925       Flash o' Lightning 

1925       Across the Deadline

1925       Battling Bunyan 

1925       The Shield of Silence

1925       The Trouble Buster

1924       The Loser's End

1924       Not Built for Runnin'

1924       The Perfect Alibi

1924       Riding Double 

1924       The Law Forbids

1924       Payable on Demand

1924       Huntin' Trouble

1924       Headin' Through

1923       King's Creek Law 

1923       In Wrong Right 

1923       The Unsuspecting Stranger 

1923       100% Nerve 

1923       Double Cinched 

1923       Lost, Strayed or Stolen 

1923       Smoked Out 

1923       Under Suspicion 

1923       Warned in Advance 

1923       Yellow Gold and Men 

1923       Steel Shod Evidence 

1923       Tom, Dick and Harry

1923       Hyde and Zeke    

1923       Wings of the Storm  

1923       When Fighting's Necessary 

1923       The Extra Seven 

1923       Partners Three     

1923       Border Law 

1922       Here's Your Man

1922       Too Much Business

1922       Nine Points of the Law

1922       Here's Your Man 

1922       One Jump Ahead 

1922       Man Tracker 

1922       His Enemy's Friend

1922       The Drifter 

1922       Out o' My Way 

1922       The Bar Cross War

1922       Rough Going 

1922       Laramie and Me 

1922       Deputized 

1922       Come and Get Me 

1922       His Own Law

1922       The Test 

1921       Winners of the West

1921       The White Horseman

1921       No Man's Woman 

1921       The Grip of the Law

1921       Kickaroo 

1921       Sweet Revenge 

1921       The Driftin' Kid 

1921       The Saddle King 

1920       The Trail of the Hound 

1920       Fight It Out 

1920       Superstition 

1920       Tipped Off 

1920       The Two-Fisted Lover 

1920       Double Danger 

1920       'In Wrong' Wright 

1920       One Law for All 

1920       The Grinning Granger 

1920       A Gamblin' Fool 

1920       The Big Catch

1917       The Railroad Raiders 

1916       A Lass of the Lumberlands 

1916       A Youth of Fortune